Cement demand is expected to grow by 4% to reach 300 million tonne in 2018-19. The number of infrastructure projects planned by the government are now in various phases where work is expected to progress faster.

Govt sanctions around 31 lakh homes under PMAY The government has sanctioned 30.76 lakh houses since the launch of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) to fulfill its ambitious scheme of Housing for All by 2022, according to housing minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? How long is the tunnel, anyway? The hapless cement industry is by now, waiting for the recovery to happen for a few years and several quarters, and, barring seasonal blips; there has been no sustained demand uptick in sight.

The mines department had signed 17 MoUs, with a proposed investment worth Rs 45,532 crore, during the Resurgent Rajasthan summit in November 2015. However, till April 2017, only Rs 4,395.27 crore (or 9.65 per cent) investment had materialised.

Cement production is expected to remain flat at 70-75 per cent of installed capacity this financial year, according to MP Rawal, Advisor, JK Cement. The industry had a total installed capacity of close to 430 MT (million tonne) a year in the country. Production last year (2016-2017) was about 300 MT, which meant that almost 30 per cent of capacity was unused.

In the last few years, many new corporates have entered the cement arena. Even the entities, which have no synergies with steel or power, are trying to get a foothold in the cement industry. The new entrants include diversified industrials as far apart as oilseeds, fast-moving consumer goods and shipyards.

The Smart Cities Council India successfully organised its first-in-its-series of India-wide multicity smart cities workshops in Solapur on June 2, 2017. Solapur was selected under the Centre’s smart city mission, which witnessed a lineup of world-class solution providers.